Following Tradition
by FanofBellaandEdward
Summary: Side story to Survival of the fittest. Out of all the possible conversation topics the Malfoy heir could have with him, this one was certainly the least expected one. And yet, it was also the one he had come to expect after these two years. Slash; implied MPreg; some foul language; tiny speck of angst; Sirius' pov


**Author's note: Guys, I have no freaking idea just what on earth I did with this fic. It started out well and well, I guess you could say it took an odd turn and I just don't know what to think of it .-. I've been rewriting and editing it for days and this is the result.**

**Yeah. Turns out writing Sirius' pov is actually incredibly difficult - even more difficult than the previous side stories I did for this series. Why on earth did I think this was such a good idea? *tugs at hair in frustration***

**Anyway, here it is: the last side story for Survival of the fittest. It expands on the small scene that happened after Draco's birthday in chapter 33.**

**Warnings: some foul language; established slash; Sirius' pov; tiny speck of angst; an author who doesn't know what she wrote.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling owns it.**

**I hope you'll like it ^^;**

* * *

**Following Tradition**

_6__th__ of June_

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Sirius asked and raised an eyebrow, while dropping three sugar cubes in his cup of coffee.

Remus waved his hand dismissively, placing his own empty cup on the table. "No need for that. Minerva, Severus and I are enough to bring the Founders back to their own room," he reassured the other man.

"When is Minnie going to inform the students about the Founders?" Sirius questioned curiously, stirring his spoon gently in the cup to mix the sugar with the hot coffee.

After almost two years of being in Snivellus' quarters, the portraits of the Founders would be returned to their original room near the library. There was no need to keep them hidden away in the dungeons – particularly Gryffindor had been vocal about that after the ritual was finished – so the Headmistress had decided that they should return to their rightful place after all those years.

"She's planning on making the announcement next year," his lover replied, distracted while he searched for his wand. "She said it would be pointless to try to explain them the use of the room when they are studying for the exams."

"Seems reasonable," Sirius muttered and opened the newspaper. "Your wand is in the bedroom, by the way."

"Why is it there?" Remus muttered, but went into their bedroom before Sirius could offer an explanation as to why the wand was there, instead of in Remus' pocket.

It could have been, for example, because they had become rather distracted when they woke up. A wolfish grin appeared on Sirius' face and he took a sip from his hot coffee, while reading a short article about an ex-Death Eater who had been caught the day before in Diagon Alley.

Shaking his head at the pure stupidity of that guy – what kind of Dark Wizard just merrily walked through Diagon Alley without expecting to be caught? Voldemort's minions had been more stupid than he initially thought – he turned the page and paused when his attention was caught by an article near the end of the page. It was the report of the trial of Molly; the reporter hadn't been able to write much, as most of the trial had taken place behind closed doors – bless the Malfoys' influence – but they had discovered the judge's sentence. Molly was subjected to house arrest for a year, with an additional sentence of her post being monitored and being prohibited to ever speak about Harry again.

Sirius very much doubted that a year of house arrest would stop that woman from acting like a total idiot, but at least the thought was there, he supposed.

Scanning the entire page dedicated to outcomes of trials, he was surprised to notice that there was no mention made of Dumbledore's trial.

He glanced at the letter thrown on the counter after they had read it. Kingsley had sent it this morning to inform them that Dumbledore had been put on trial yesterday – one of the most secret and most hidden trials till this date apparently – and he had been found guilty for all charges, leading to him being locked up for life in Azkaban on the level with the highest security. He would have received the Kiss, but the jury had decided that living without his magic and being locked up in Azkaban, where a couple of Dementors still roamed around in the highest levels, was punishment enough.

Apparently nothing had been leaked to the press, which was a big surprise considering those leeches of the Daily Prophet had a knack for discovering secrets.

Sirius' respect for the juridical department rose slightly for the first time in years.

"Did you find your wand?" he asked, slightly smirking, when his lover came out of the bedroom with a frown marring his forehead.

Remus huffed and slipped his wand in the pocket of his robes. "Yeah, I did. Next time we're using your wand," he retorted and walked over to share a quick kiss.

Sirius hummed, pressing their lips firmly together, before he allowed the other man to pull back. "Sure thing," he smiled cheekily and winked.

He was satisfied to note that despite all the things they had done already, he still had the ability to make the quiet man blush fiercely.

"Shut up. I'm going now!"

Before the black haired man could even attempt to offer a reply, Remus was already out of the room and the portrait slammed shut behind him with quite some noise.

Shaking his head fondly and letting out a rough chuckle, Sirius turned his attention back towards the newspaper, intent on finding out who had won the Quidditch match yesterday: France or Spain.

* * *

A little while later the sound of the portrait opening again reached his ears and broke through his concentration. Was Remus back already? That was quick.

When he raised his head, however, he came face to face with Draco instead of Remus. The blond man stood in the middle of the room with a determined look on his face and his shoulders were squared, tense, as if he would enter a duel any second now.

Sirius raised his eyebrows and lowered the newspaper completely, resting his arms on top of it. He cocked his head and studied the other wizard quietly for a moment, noticing how the silver grey eyes shone fiercely and he wondered what was going through his head at the moment.

"Something you need?" he asked, when the faint stirrings of curiosity couldn't be ignored any longer.

Draco inclined his head stiffly. "Yes, I have come to ask you an important question."

_Oh, this should be interesting._

"I'm all ears," Sirius retorted gruffly and stood up to refill his empty cup of coffee. "You want tea or coffee? Or something else?"

"No, I'm good," Draco muttered and he shuffled with his feet.

The sound of coffee being poured in the cup accompanied their calm breathing and it was only after he had added a sugar cube that he turned around to face the blond again, his hands wrapped around the warm cup.

Leaning back against the counter, he narrowed his eyes slightly. "So? What do you want to talk about? Did something happen to Harry?" he asked sharply and his muscles tensed, ready to storm out immediately and find his godson if that was needed. He still woke up some nights from nightmares in which Harry hadn't made it through the ritual and the feeling of helplessness slowly suffocating him when he realised that he could do nothing to help him. He wasn't keen on revisiting that feeling of helplessness again any time soon.

"Everything is fine with Harry, I promise," Draco hastily reassured him. "Nothing bad happened to him, I swear."

"All right, then why are you here?"

He didn't mean to be rude, but it was beyond strange that the Malfoy heir was willingly visiting him. He knew he hadn't always acted friendly towards the blond man – he didn't need Remus' scolding or Harry's warning look to realise that – and that most likely contributed to the fact that the younger man was standing so stiffly in front of him, not willing to relax at all.

Sirius felt a bit sorry for his behaviour towards Draco at times, but it was something he couldn't always help. He felt incredibly overprotective over Harry and it didn't help that legally Harry was an adult now – more than ever now that he was expecting a child – and therefore didn't really need him anymore. Twelve years he had missed out on him growing up. Twelve years that he should have spent with his godson instead of locked up in a rotten cell. And now that he was free, his godson didn't really need his care and help anymore; he had a boyfriend he could rely on now if he needed someone. That sometimes stung him, but at the same time he was proud that Harry had grown up strong and independent.

Still, there were times he wished he had been the one to take care of Harry. At least then the Dursleys wouldn't have had the chance to hurt him.

And yes, maybe a small part of him was jealous of the Malfoy heir. Because in a way Draco knew more about Harry than Sirius ever would. He was able to stay at Harry's side the entire time while Sirius had to learn how to let go of his godson.

Nobody had ever told him that being a parent could be this difficult. He wished they had, because then at least he could have prepared himself. Now he was just floundering around, not entirely certain of what he had to do, and hoping to Merlin that he didn't fuck up the bond he had with Harry. Being standoffish to his boyfriend was not the way to go, he knew that.

But he had always been good at pissing off people. Probably was the Black blood in him. At least he could try not to act like a total git towards Draco.

"I wanted to do this the right way," Draco started and he took a deep breath. "I have come here to ask you, as godfather and legal guardian of Harry, for permission to marry him."

Okay, this was _not_ the way he had expected this conversation to go. What the hell? Had he heard what he thought he had heard?

"You want to marry Harry?" Sirius repeated blankly and placed his cup down on the counter while his mind tried to process the current situation.

Suddenly he found himself wishing that Remus was still here. At least he would know how to react to this news properly. Remus had always been better when it came to dealing with unexpected news.

Draco inclined his head and while his voice wavered slightly when he spoke next, his look of confidence didn't melt and he hold Sirius' surprised gaze without looking away once. "Yes, I want to marry him. I have been thinking about proposing to him for a while now and the last few weeks have just confirmed what I already knew long before."

"Which is?"

"That I cannot live without him. The bond doesn't even come into play here; even without it, I still wouldn't give him up. When I saw him lying there after the ritual, it made me realise that I cannot live without him anymore. I love him too much. I can't imagine my life without him anymore and I want to make that official." Draco took another deep breath and this time he did shuffle with his feet; the confidence in his eyes battling with uncertainty. "I know you don't really like me and – and I don't really know why, but I would like your permission to marry him. I swear on my magic that I will make him happy and treat him the way he deserves to be treated."

"Those are heavy words for someone so young," Sirius murmured, tapping his fingers slowly against the door of the cabinet next to his hip. As a Pureblood, Draco would know how dangerous it was to swear something on his own magic. It was seen as a binding vow: break it and you would lose all your magic.

That the young man was willing to go that far …

"I know, but there is no other way I know of that would express how serious I am about him," Draco answered calmly. "I love Harry, Lord Black, with all my heart and nothing is ever going to change that."

Oh, so he was serious about it, huh? There was no need to use his old title otherwise. Lucius had taught his son the Pureblood traditions well.

"Really? And why is nothing going to change that?" Sirius couldn't help but ask. He wasn't per se sceptical; he wasn't fucking blind. He could see with his own eyes how devoted the two men were to each other. He hadn't seen that much devotion since James and Lily had become a couple and that was saying something.

"Because he completes me," Draco replied and while his cheeks gained an embarrassed flush, he ploughed on, "He's my other half. There is no one else who could make me feel what I feel for him."

Well, crap, maybe he had underestimated the extent of their feelings for each other just a bit.

"Have you asked Harry?"

"No, like I said: I wanted to do this the right way. I want your permission to ask him to marry me."

"Hm … What would you do if I say no?" Sirius asked curiously, cocking his head. Honestly, if Draco would let himself be stopped by his refusal, he wasn't suited to be at Harry's side, in his opinion. Following the Pureblood tradition was admirable and even gained the blond some respect, but Sirius had never been a big fan of following those traditions. If the Malfoy heir wouldn't marry Harry simply because he hadn't gained Sirius' approval, then he didn't deserve to be with Harry.

"With all due respect, sir, but I would still ask him to marry me," Draco retorted; his grey eyes glittering almost feverishly. "I want your approval, yes, but I'm not going to let your refusal stop me from marrying the man I love."

Sirius chuckled and it grew out to a full laugh when he took notice of the confused look on Draco's face. He clearly hadn't expected this particular reaction to his answer.

His reply had told Sirius all he needed to know: that Draco was the right person for Harry.

"Fine, yes, you have my approval," Sirius said, still with a wide grin. His grin grew a tad dark when he continued, "Mind you: do anything to hurt Harry or the baby and you will wish you hadn't."

"I have no intention of ever hurting them. Thank you, sir; your approval means a lot to me," Draco told him sincerely and gave a slight bow; relief clearly etched onto his face.

"Hm, don't make me regret it," Sirius warned light-heartedly and picked up his cup again.

"I won't," the blond man reassured him and then turned around to leave the room, presumably to go back to Harry.

"Oh, and Draco?"

Grey eyes looked at him inquiringly.

"You can call me by my first name; there is no need to be so formal. We're family after all," Sirius informed him casually and blinked when a wide grin lightened up Draco's face.

"Thank you!"

With that odd answer, he left the room.

Yeah, Sirius didn't think he would ever completely understand the Malfoy family. But that was okay: everyone had their own quirks after all.

Wandering over to the window, he looked out of it, seeing the vast expanse of the bright blue sky over his head, some fluffy clouds lazily drifting by.

"Hey, Prongs, Lilyflower, you heard what just happened, right?" he murmured, imagining his best friends rolling their eyes in reaction to his stupid question. "Your son is going to get married soon; I doubt he's going to say no to Draco. Can you believe how quickly Harry grew up? It seems like it was just yesterday that he was taking his first step."

He paused for a moment, allowing the silence to be filled with the faint chitter of birds and the faint barking of Fang somewhere on the grounds. Memories of James excitedly showing his new born son drifted past, followed by a memory of Lily cooing at her baby.

They had missed out on so much of Harry's life … One year ago that would have made him feel heavy with guilt, wondering why he was allowed to be in Harry's life, while his own parents didn't have that opportunity anymore.

It wasn't fair. Life had never been fair to them.

But he had wrestled his way past the guilt. If James and Lily couldn't be there for their son anymore, that just meant he had to do his best to be the best parental figure Harry could want.

Even if he didn't need a parental figure anymore.

"I know he is all grown up now," he continued softly, "but don't stop looking after him, all right? I'm doing the best I can, but I can use some help."

He was probably imagining it, but for one moment he thought he could feel slender arms embracing him while a hand ruffled his hair.

A rustling sound behind him made him spin around, his wand already in his hand.

When he saw the cause of the sound, a lump formed in his throat. One of the pictures for which he and Remus hadn't found a frame yet had fluttered down to the table: it was a picture of him, Remus, James and Lily, seated together in their small kitchen with baby Harry sleeping in his mother's embrace. Some lily petals were scattered across it.

He smiled; a warm glow spreading out from his chest to his entire body.

"Yeah, I knew I could count on you, guys."

Yes, he still wished his friends hadn't died, taking a part of him with them. But he wasn't alone anymore.

This time, he could truly start enjoying his life. Together with his family.

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**AN2: ... Yeah, don't even ask me what I was thinking *shakes head* So what do you think of it? Please leave your thoughts behind in a review. If anyone spots a mistake, please point it out to me.**

**I hope to see you all in my future fics!**

**Cuddles**

**Melissa**

**P.S. For more information about my posted and upcoming stories, please visit my profile.**


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